Virtual Attraction [COMPLETE]

22| The Party IV.

Freaking Chapter 22. Took long enough to get here ;). Lmbo. Anyway, read on...

"baby,
nostalgia is only good for one thing
and that's telling stories
don't you tuck it into bed with you at night
don't you let it keep you warm"

- Fortesia Latifi

Just then, I heard a honk below the apartment complex. It was the buzzing sound of a Lamborghini. 'Harriette' had arrived.

"I thought you were sick," Elliot smirked as I neared his vehicle. His body language was loose today. His arm leaned outside of the car's window, while he was loudly snapping some bubble gum.

This time he didn't look me up and down appreciatively like he had at Mason's party. He barely even glanced at my red plaid shirt and jean overalls.

"I'm feeling better," I lied.

He just kept watching me, until finally I blurted out. "Okay fine," I sighed, letting out a heavy breath of air. "I didn't want to go. Parties. Loud music. People. It's just not my thing."

Elliot chuckled and his lips did this thing I loved, where one side turned up higher than the other. "People aren't your thing? What are you?"

"An introvert," I replied, quickly. "Now drive."

He raised his eyebrows at my rushed response and turned the key in the ignition.

"I didn't m-mean to scare you," I said, suddenly regretting the harsh, grated tone I'd used.

He just shot me another of his signature smiles. "Running from something Allen?"

We were leaving the parking lot now and I didn't have the energy to lie. "Everything."

Then, came the awkwardness. I couldn't think of anything to say that was worth breaking up the silence that settled in the air. Elliot kept turning to me as though he was going to say something, but never managed to utter anything.

He almost looked...guilty? Maybe that wasn't the best word for it. He looked like a deer who'd been caught behind headlines. Like a guy whose wife just caught him cheating.

Eventually he just turned up the radio to a loud 70s rock music station.

Why was I surprised that Elliot and I had nothing to say to each other? What did we really know about each other?

It dawned on me that I was driving in the car of a boy who I barely knew, just because I'd seen him around town a couple of times. Just because his Mom owned a business that I contributed stories to.

He could be a serial killer, driving me to my death. Maybe there really wasn't any Caden party going on tonight. Maybe...he was BlackLight.

He had the same spark, the same wit, the same air of confidence about him. Unlikely, I thought.

"So..." I shouted over the music. "How was your day?"

He turned down the music and glanced over at me. "How was yours?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, unimpressed. Why didn't anyone ever answer that question in a straightforward manner?

I rolled my eyes, letting the conversation die down again.

He chuckled. Even though I was annoyed, the sound of his laughter was so familiar, it almost felt like home. Everything was going to be okay.